The 6th Degree
by Vazania
Summary: Fang didn't care anymore. He didn't care about what Max had done to him. About how much she broke him. He only wanted her back. He wished, oh god, he wished that he had listened to her. That he hadn't been so quick as to assume. So now he was broken. The mistake he made was too much, pushing away the one girl that understood him. Thus, he was at the 6th degree. AH AU, FAX Oneshot
1. Chapter 1

**6 Degrees of Separation**

-:-:-:-First, you think the worst is a broken heart-:-:-:-

"I'll have another please." He slams down his glass, pushing it towards the bartender. His words are slurred from the alcohol, but he doesn't care. Nothing matters, and he'll do anything to get away from the pain.

The bartender, 29-year-old woman, pushes the now full shot glass back towards him. The man downs it without a second thought not moments hesitation. She pities him, and its with that pity that she whispers to him.

"They're selling joints out back." He nods and gives her a drunken smile, stumbling out the back door.

Once out the man leans on the alleyway wall, momentarily forgetting what he came out for.

"Want a smoke?" Another man of about 31 asks, pushing the joint towards him. He takes it in his fingers, rolls it around a bit and takes a huge puff. He then pushes the joint back towards the other man, who ambles off, and lets his head loll to the side. He closes his eyes, trying to hold onto the high.

But it leaves, just like almost everything that mattered to him. He takes out his phone, his voice of reason still strong in the back of his mind, and dials.

"Hey, Fang. You okay man?"

"I need you to pick me up." The alcohol hasn't worn off yet and he slurs.

"Man? You okay." The guy on the other line is concerned now. Fang never drank.

"It hurts. It hurts so bad. Why did I do it? I should've taken her back." Fang says, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Oh, god. Dude, I'm coming. Where are you?"

"In the back of The Blue Moon."

"I'll be there in five okay? Don't move."

"I know Iggy, I know."

-:-:-:-What's gonna kill you is the second part-:-:-:-

He took the picture out his back pocket and looked at it for a long time. It was of her, of Max. The girl who broke his heart.

She looked so beautiful in the picture, smiling, without a care in the world, totally unlike the broken girl she was when he last saw her.

**Flashback**

_"Max?" Max pulled away from Dylan._

_"Fang?" Her eyes widened, "Fang, I can explain. I was just so upset about you leaving and Dylan was there and he hugged me and he tried to kiss my cheek but I turned my head and he kissed my lips and I got—"_

_ "Save it. I don't give a frick Max. And to think that I actually risked my job coming back to you." He ran a hand through his hair, "Have you been doing this the whole time I was gone?"_

_ "No, Fang, I swear, I would never hurt you like that."_

_ "And yet you already have. Goodbye Max. Its nice knowing that you prefer my fucking _brother _over me."_

**Flashback End**

Fang growled. He crumpled up the picture in his fist and rummaged through the kitchen drawer until he found what he was looking for. A lighter.

He took the picture by a corner and lit a corner. The flames licked up the paper hungrily.

"Hey Fang.—Fang! What the hell are you doing man?!" Iggy dropped the mail he was holding and rushed over to Fang. He grabbed the picture and dropped it in the sink.

"What the hell were you thinking? You could've burned the house down."

It was all too much for Fang. He sank down to the ground, holding his head as he silently cried.

Iggy squatted down next to him. "Fang, oh god, I'm so sorry, it's just I was so worried that you would hurt yourself. But you've got to move on."

Fang whipped his head up and glared at Iggy with such ferocity that it scared him.

"How can I move on when she was my everything?" He pushed up from the ground and stalked to his room, slamming the door. There was a faint crashing noise.

-:-:-:-And the third, is when your world splits down the middle-:-:-:-

"You okay in there?" Iggy knocked on the door. It had been two days since Fang's

blow up and he was worried.

Much to Iggy's relief, Fang opened the door. "Yeah dude, I'm great."

Iggy smiled. Fang gave a little half hearted one back.

"Why don't we go out somewhere?" Iggy suggests, "A new club opened a few blocks from here while you were gone. We can go there."

"Great." Fang smiled, for real this time. "I'll get ready."

But Iggy didin't realize that Fang was actually not okay. He didn't know that Fang mentally glared at him when he about asked about going out. Because only Max could read him like that. And now Max wasn't here. And that hurt him more than Iggy would ever be able to comprehend.

-:-:-:-And fourth, you're gonna think that you fixed yourself -:-:-:-

"Yeah, I'm great man." Fang gave a half-smile to Nate, one of his friends from college. Iggy had ditched him to go dance with his girlfriend, Nudge. "The breakup really

took a toll on me for a bit, but I'm over her."

"That's good." Nate smiled, "All of us were worried that you never would get over her."

"Yeah, well now I won't have anyone whacking me on the head for checking out other girls." The two young men laughed.

"What are you guys up to?" Iggy asked, prancing over to the bar, Nudge in tow.

"Nothing much." Fang replied. He smiled to show that he was okay, "Hey Nudge."

"Hey Fang. Hi Nate. Omigod, Iggy, will you buy me a beer, I forgot my purse at home and I really want one and they're on a special and—"

"Shut up, I'll buy you one." Iggy said, but he smiled at his girlfriend, "But I'm not buying you anymore than that, you can't hold your liquor."

Nudge pouted playfully, "Fine, Mr. Party-Pooper."

"I am not." Iggy cried out indignantly.

"Actually you kind of are Iggy. What kind of guy limits their girlfriend to only one beer?" Nate asked, throwing a conspiring wink at Nudge.

"Yeah Iggy. What kind of boyfriend are you?" Iggy glared at her.

"Fine, I'll buy you two but that's it. The things I do for you Nudge, the things I do." Nudge grinned triumphantly.

"Ooooh, is that Tess? Let's go say hi. You can buy me those beers later." Nudge dragged Iggy off into the crowd.

Fang shook his head, "They're ridiculous."

"You got that right." Nate replied, "Well, I'm off, I have a job interview tomorrow morning."

"You quit another job?" Fang asked, incredulous. Nate was famous for his pickiness when it came to jobs.

"Nope, they fired me. Apparently I was too _meticulous. _Can you believe them?"

"Yeah, actually I can." Nate mock glared at him. "Well, I'll see you later?"

"Of course, we should hang out again sometime."

"Yeah. Bye."

"Bye Fang."

Fang sat at the bar, swirling his drink around, watching the brown liquid almost spill out of the glass. He then abruptly stopped and poured the drink in the plant next to him. Its color reminded him too much of a certain person's eyes.

-:-:-:-Fifth, you see them out with someone else-:-:-:-

It had been a month since the break up. Nate and Fang, true to their words, had met up again and were at a local diner, an old college hangout.

"I'll have a Irish coffee, no foam." Fang said to the waitress. She smiled seductively at him and bit her lip, trying to look sexy. She adjusted her shirt collar, undoing two more buttons in addition to the ones that were already undone to show even more of her cleavage. Fang smiled back politely.

"And what about you?" She asked, turning to Nate.

"I'll have the same, but with two sugars."

"Sweet huh? I like it." She smiled again and walked back to the kitchen, her hips swaying a lot more than necessary.

"Well, she reminded me of someone." Nate said grinning. "Remember Lissa Sterling?"

"Oh god, that was the worst dating mistake of my life." Fang said. "She followed me around everywhere even after I broke up with her for hooking up with Collin."

"And her hair, jeez, it looked like a fire truck threw up on her."

"And remember what happened during Nudge's annual summer pool party?"

"Who wouldn't? Nudge was all like, 'Girl, you sure you want to go in that pool? Chlorine isn't good for color-treated hair.' And Lissa flipped out and insisted that her hair wasn't treated and dove into the water and it turned that ugly shade of green for weeks."

"I know. It was hilarious."

The waitress came back with the coffees and waited a bit longer than necessary, and then went to go get the check, for she had apparently 'forgotten it'.

Fang paid, and grabbed the slip of paper, which the waitress had tucked in, her number scrawled on it. He threw it out as he walked through the door, Nate smirking behind him.

They walked back to Fang's apartment, talking about video games and such, laughing over Nate's impersonation of his new boss, and talking about the game that was going to be on that night.

All was going well until they bumped into Sam and Max.

"Oh, uh, hey." Nate said.

"Hey Nate. Fang." Max nodded at him, speaking in a clipped tone.

"Hey Max." Fang replied, in an equally clipped way. "Whose this?" He motioned towards Sam, who was standing behind her.

"I'm her boyfriend." He said proudly, while slipping an arm around her waist and kissing her forehead. Max looked slightly uncomfortable and annoyed at this gesture. Fang on the other hand, had a million thoughts going through his head at once.

Max looked at them, a guilty and sad expression on her face when she saw that Fang had shut down emotionally, making his face blank. "I-I guess I'll see you later then?"

"Maybe." Fang then shouldered past her, not even bothering a sorry and walked briskly towards his apartment. Nate rushed after him, not speaking until they got inside.

"Are you okay?"

"Do I freaking look like I'm okay?" He roared in anger. He thought he was okay, that he was over her. But he wasn't. And now he was broken all over again.

Iggy rushed into the room, in boxers, Nudge sleepily walking behind him. Fang didn't even bother making a joke at the their state. Instead, he slumped onto the couch, head in his hands.

Nate, Iggy and Nudge looked at him solemnly. The only way to fix him was with the person who broke him.

-:-:-:-And the sixth, is when you admit that you may have messed up a little-:-:-:-

Fang didn't care anymore. He didn't care about what Max had done to him. About how much she broke him. He only wanted her back. He wished, oh god, he wished that he had listened to her. That he hadn't been so quick as to assume. Because a few weeks after his encounter with her and Sam, Dylan, his brother, and last person that he had wanted to see came and explained that it was actually all his fault and that he felt like a total douche for all of it. But it didn't matter nor help with the situation besides the fact that Fang wouldn't spend the rest of his life hating his brother.

And now he was broken. The mistake he made was too much, pushing away the one girl that understood him. The one girl that he had loved. No, not had. He still loved her. And he would for the rest of his days, even if she wasn't his. He had reached the 6th degree.

It was Valentines Day, the one day that would now mock him for the rest of his life. He asked Max out on Valentines Day. Well, for the third time. She was quite the stubborn one.

He was in his apartment, alone. Iggy had Nudge over and the last thing he wanted was to walk in on them doing _certain _things. Iggy's apartment had been a temporary place of stay, until he got himself together enough to live on his own. But he fell apart the minute he entered the house. He fell apart because this apartment was filled with memories. It was actually their place. Max moved out after they broke up. And now, now it was filled with the memories of their relationship.

So he sat there, looking out the window, mournful on the most exploited holiday of the year.

He wasn't expecting visitors, so when the doorman buzzed up (this _is _New York), saying that there was a girl downstairs asking for him, he thought it was probably just some girl scout, and because he was a charitable man, he allowed for her to come up. But when he opened the door, he hadn't expected _her. _

Max. She was unchanged from their last meeting, except for perhaps the bloodshot eyes and the bags. Not to mention her hair was a frazzled mess. But none of that mattered to Fang. No the only thing that mattered was that Max, his Max (God knows that she would kill him if she heard that), was out there, outside his apartment.

"Max." He said, barely registering his utterance of her name.

"Fang, I-I—"

"Why don't you come in first?" He said, awakening from his stupor of disbelief, and saving her from her lack of eloquence.

"Oh yes, of course." She looked slightly dazed, like she couldn't believe that Fang hadn't slammed the door on her face.

She stood on the doormat; even after Fang closed and bolted the door, wring her hands. Nothing had changed, except for the lack of the paintings and beanbag chair she took with her.

"So…" Fang said, turning to her.

"So…" Max replied, she wasn't even sure why she came, she had just had the urge to and then, here she was.

"Um, would you like something to drink?" Fang jabbed a finger towards the kitchen. It was too good to be true. Wasn't it?

"Oh, uh, water would be fine." She took a seat in the couch that she and Fang had bought at the flea market, a month before he left on his business trip and two months before they broke up.

"Alright." Fang disappeared into the kitchen. They were so polite with each other now. What had changed? _You know what changed Fang. _

He went back into the living room with the glass of water, and handed it to Max. He took a seat opposite from her, on the arm chair.

"So… how have you been?" Max asked.

"Pretty crappy." They both smiled, understanding the meaning of what he said.

"Same. I broke up with Sam the day after we bumped into each other."

"Really?"

"Well yeah. You seriously can't picture me with someone as dumb as him can you?" They laughed. Silence settled over them like a blanket. Neither unsure of what to say.

"And, well, I realized how much I missed you…" She whispered, unsure if Fang had even heard her.

But he had, and he smiled lightly, hesitantly."I missed you too."

Her head whipped up, disbelief lighting her eyes.

"I-I should've listened. And now I've realized what an idiot I've been. Dylan told me what happened. And I just feel so lost without you." He was rambling. " And, well, would you be willing to start over?" He finished.

"Of course." Relief shone on her face, giving it the glow that had been missing up till now. _You sound like a lovesick sap. _Fang thought to himself.

Shaking the thoughts away, Fang stuck out his hand and stood up, they _were_ starting over."I'm Alex Ride, and I prefer to be called Fang."

"I'm Maximum Martinez, and I prefer to be called Max." But Max ignored his hand and rushed into his arms, catching him in a hug. He stiffened, but then wrapped his arms around her.

"I missed you so much." She whispered.

"I missed you too."

And that, was that.

* * *

**A/N: So yes, this was based of the song by The Script, The 6 Degrees of ****Separation. I seriously loved writing this.**

**Ciao!**

**~MDW**


	2. AN

**I am so stupid. I'm sorry for all the readers that followed this story, cause I forgot to mention it was a oneshot. I apologize. But I guess I could write a few more chapters and make it a collection of oneshots if you guys are willing to give me suggestions. So yeah. Anywho, check out my other stories too and if anyone's interested I'll turn this into a collection.**

**~MDW**


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